Art Print Issues

Indie Fashion Mag Inspires

The previous Indie Art Intersection post sets the table for this one. It seems art, fashion and music come in trends with differerent global locations taking turns leading. Lately, Brit chicks have been having their way on the pop music scene with Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Leona Lewis and Adele all making hits and generating lots of fan and media interest.

Similarly, there is a wave of indie fashion mags helmed by Brit chicks as well. None better done or more exciting than N.E.E.T. Magazine. It is helmed by Stephanie J who manages the slick online publication as a one person band. What she is pulling together is a visual tour de force of indie fashion, graphic design, art and accessories. It takes a while for the mag to load, but it is worth the wait.

You may or may not have an interest in fashion, or indie fashion, but it is a source of cutting edge trends that often wind their way into the mainstream market. I would hardly describe myself as a fashionista, but I do appreciate creativity and great design. I found an abundance of both in N.E.E.T. Although this genre is primarily populated by younger generations, visual artists of all ages can take clues on current graphic design and color trends to inform their work.  N.E.E.T. Magazine is a step beyond fashion. Here is a quote from a Q&A on Prcouture and Stephanie J that sums up her concept for the publication:

Who/what gets featured in N.E.E.T?

SJ: Anyone and everyone - as long as they’re independent. Fashion designers, crafters, illustrators, photographers, fashionistas, journalists, boutique owners, bloggers, vintage lovers, stylists, make up artists, eco-friendly stores, fairtraders - in N.E.E.T. I feature original, quality and well made items.

Sometimes the best inspiration and ideas come from those things we initially thought we would never do. It is a well known brainstorming technique to think of all the things you wouldn't do. Try it sometimes when thinking of new vacation destinations. Or, flip through the pages of N.E.E.T. to discover some concepts you can creatively borrow for your art business. Maybe it's not for you art, but for your Web design or graphic design to promote your business. Or, maybe you'll find a piece of irrestible jewelry or other accessory. Enjoy!

Colour Lovers

I bet you didn't know I was a color and pattern designer. Neither did I till I played around for a few minutes on the Colour Lovers Web site where I created this palette, which I titled King's Ransom.

With the palette done, I went to the pattern creator and used it to create my Morrocan King pattern seen here. What a great fun tool which can be very serious too. Like life, it's all in what you make it.

If you are a visual artist, or just someone who loves color, you are going to have fun and a hard time pulling yourself off this site. Enjoy!

Indie Art Intersection

By virtue of reading this blog, you are likely part of or interested in the Indie Art movement. Indie Art primarily encompasses visual arts, music, films, fashion, design and crafts. It is an exciting time to be an independent artist.

Your Choices Drive Your Results

If you choose to, you could let all the economic troubles and related bad news we are faced with daily and the ongoing deconstruction of traditional art marketing venues get you down. Or, you could rejoice in being living in what perhaps is the most exciting time ever for independent artists. Your outlook and opinion are sure to shape your results. I don't believe you can wish your way to success, but I know for certain you can't create success unless you believe you can.

You have more options than artists from previous eras

You may not be able to change macro conditions rocking our world with climate, political and economic turmoil, but you can choose how you react to them and decide to use what is available to you to help you fashion your own success. The reality is you may have to adjust your thinking about what you are creating, or how it is produced or consumed to achieve success. But, that same reality gives you more options to get your work to market than artists in any previous era.

What is interesting now is as an artist, you have more opportunities to make your career happen. In the past, if you weren't working for "The Man", you weren't working. While that statement is not completely accurate, it is not totally off the mark either. What it means is that whether you were independent or with a publisher, you had to pass through a limited number of portals to get your work to market. Today those portals have erupted into an abundance of opportunities. The combined effect of the rise of the Internet, the development of print-on-demand technology coupled with a growing interest from consumers for authenticity and uniqueness in their purchases, gives you a means to market yourself in ways previous generations could not even conceive of, much less act upon.

On-line sites and social networking communities create new opportunities

Web sites such as EBSQ Art, Etsy, (which landed $27 million in funding in January 2008), ImageKind and Indie Public are just a few examples of how visual artists are using online venues to get their work to eager customers. Lightning Source International, my POD book printer, has made it possible for authors to get their books online everywhere. The independent music distributor CD Baby has to date sold more than 4.4 million CDs for nearly 250,000 independent recording artists paying them more than $79 million dollars. The SXSW Music, Film and Interactive Media Festival has become one the most important outlets for musicians, film makers and artists to get exposure for their new work. Something like 700 bands played there this year. The interactive media portion continues to grow in importance and stature.

Resources to help you figure out what will work best for you are out there

The sites listed above are not intended to be exhaustive. You will need to do more research to find others suitable for your work and marketing. And just as the Internet makes looking for unique art possible for consumers, it gives you plenty of sources to find places to suit your marketing.

Granted, it can be challenging to figure out which outlets are right for you to invest time and money. However, there has never been a time when it wasn't challenging to learn how to best allocate limited funds for marketing. At least now there are viable alternatives to exclusively working the traditional artist-gallery connection. A valuable source of independent research and advice on which sites are potentially best for you is Empty Easel. Its regularly updated features on nine marketing are full of insight. Retail galleries remain an important distribution channel for artists. But, for most artists in today's evolving climate, galleries cannot be relied upon as the sole source of revenue as in the past.

Artists must be involved in making distribution channel choices

At one point not long ago, it would have been career suicide for artists to compete with galleries. In today's market, it may be career suicide not to. That is not to say artists should attempt to distribute the same prints they have in the gallery market through their own distribution channels. That would be ill-advised bad form. You have to use common sense and decency in making decisions about how your work will be distributed and where. If you act with integrity and ethically, no one can accuse you of doing them wrong. The litmus test of whether you would be happy if on the other side of the question can help steer your choices.

Make your choices and set your sights

• What do you want your career to look like?
• What kind of art do you want to make?
• What art can you happily make that will make you the most money?
• What are the best ways to get your art to market?

Once you are able to satisfactorily answer questions like these, you can begin to use them to formulate a marketing plan based on your available resources. I'll see you at the top!

Convergent Media - Stretching the Imagination

Regular readers here know I also am a frequent guest blogger on Absolute Arts, one of the most frequently visited fine art sites on the Internet. A previous post there titled Brave New Digital World by Brad Michael Moore, prompted my subsequent post there.

Brad had these things to say:

As a Digital Artifact Artist - born just passing the golden age of photography, I will offer to you here, a intricate definition (part theory, some elements - tongue in cheek) of where I have arrived as an artist, and why I think I am here.

Today, I challenge those old assumptions about reproduced art. I hold my strongest belief; that it should be the artist's prerogative, as to what standard they choose to create by. If one artist decides each print must be exactly alike, in every way, with it's literal counterparts - then that is a part of that's artist's identity - to create a digital file, and never change it, never improve it - never consider if you yourself grow from day to day as an artist... If an artist chooses, like I choose, to make each and every artwork unique - no matter how many times it is printed - then that is part of my identity - my freedom, and my creative prerogative. I believe everyday I am a newer person, with a greater knowledge - based on the experience of everyday efforts to improve myself as artist and human.

Those words inspired me to resurrect a suggestion I made about year ago. The title of my most recent Absolute Arts post is Has the Time Come for Convergent Media? This is probably a good idea anyway insofar as most often it takes repeated exposure to ideas for them to take seed.

My suggestion is to use Convergent Media to describe the evolving art form that has been called digital art for lack of a better term. I felt when I made the initial suggestion the process deserved a better descriptor.

While digital art is serviceable to a degree, it is limited in its abililty to accurately convey the medium. And, it carries with it some negative connotation as being machine made, or that somehow the hand and eye of the artist are more removed than from traditional art on paper or canvas. Those who are involved know this is far from the truth.

Art Stretches the Imagination

If you read the Absolute Arts post, you'll find me waxing artists' work portends the future. I speculate since Convergent Media employs blending a wide range of influences, techniques and technologies, it is a metaphor for how artists on a global level will help us understand the importance of transcending national interests for the betterment of global citizens.  It is an admitted bit of a stretch, but that is what art is capable of doing, stretching our imagination.

Orphan Works Act 2008 Gets Squidoo Courtesy of Making a Mark

The abundance of information on the Orphan Works Act is enormous. It's a chore to try and get your arms around it. I recently posted some thoughts and links here to help you make sense of it.

Leave it to the inestimable and seemingly indefatiguable Katherine Tyrrell to come up with appears to be the ultimate resource for information on the Orphan Works Act. She has tackled the challenge of creating a viable repository of information regarding this festering worrisome bit of legislation. Plus, she has gone beyond the legislation and offers invaluable links to all manner of copyright issues for visual artists.

If you are new to the art business or have been spending too much time under a rock, you may have somehow missed reading her well trafficked Marking a Mark blog, her The Art Business - Resources for Visual Artists Squidoo Lens, or her frequent contributions on the Wet Canvas forums among other projects. I encourage you to review her work and know you will be happy you did. If you explore her blogs and lenses, you will encounter yet more of her contributions

Between maintaining all the above, she manages to have a career as an artist as well. I commend her for her efforts and energy. And, today she is to be commended for putting together the Copyright and Orphan Artworks - Resources for Artists Squidoo Lens. It is an exhaustive source of everything related to the Orphan Works Act. It is also a great example of how to use Squidoo to publish useful information with the residual effect of creating greater awareness for your business, blog and Web site. There is nothing wrong with that equation and no better example of how to do it than Katherine's efforts. You can't help but find inspiration for your art and your art business in her online contributions. 

Hope & Inspiration on the Cover of a Magazine

There is too much buzz kill in the air and every where!

These days, you don't have to look far to find information telling you how to survive the economic downturn, what to do about the Orphan Works Act, and other assorted downer material. Talk about harshing one's mellow...sheesh...enough already!

Was Spiro Agnew actually right about something?

Not that some of this information is not valuable, and admittedly this blog has contributed or post or two to the cacophony of hand-wringing over conditions much out of our control. I think I finally know what disgraced former Nixon Vice-President, Spiro Agnew, meant when he used the phrase, "Nattering nabobs of negativity." Okay, that may too harsh too, but the point is we should all take a collective moment to deeply breathe in the good and forcefully exhale the bad.

The art print market owes a debt of gratitude to Art World News for its contributions

Just in time to rescue us from our summer doldrums the May issue of Art World News arrives. Without looking further than the front page news items, it is totally possible to gain a new fresh positive perspective about the art print market. There are headers for two stories in the magazine detailing the launch of new art publishing operations. Kudos and bravo to the David O'Keefe Studios and Legacy Fine Art Publishing for launching their businesses in the teeth of arguably the worst economic times the business has seen in most people's memory.

Getting started is more important than when to get started

In the days I sold tradeshow space, there were always those newbies who fretted in anxiety over when to get started or that they were missing an important show, such as the Atlanta Decor Expo as it is now known. I counseled them in the long run it was important they got started and not when. In other words, if you have a good plan, adequate finances and art that sells when seen, it's where you will be in 5 or 10 years that matters and your start date would be of near zero importance. The same could be said for these new publishing operations. They are starting now in tough times, but today's economic times won't determine their ultimate success.

Take a tip from Time magazine founder, Henry Luce

The main story in AWN's May issue is about a gallery owner in the St. Augustine, Florida area. Len Cutter has not one, but five galleries. He says the only businesses that are suffering are those not working hard enough. I would add to that smart enough. But, it brings to mind that Henry Luce, the great publishing entrepreneur who brought us Time and Life magazines. He audaciously launched Fortune magazine in 1932. This was right in the heart of the Great Depression. Inarguably, this was the worst economic times the U.S. has ever seen. At the then princely sum of $1 per copy, he was not giving it away either. Nearly 75 years later, Fortune remains one of the most important business magazines in the country, if not worldwide.

Conceive it, believe it achieve it!

If you have been feeling down about your prospects or anything else for that matter, let these examples raise your spirits and enthusiasm for your business. We only have what we have to work with. What we do with it rests largely on our perceptions of our prospects. The adage, "Seeing is believing" holds true here. A quote from sculptor Constantin Brancusi is apropos, "To see far is one thing, to get there is another." Art World News brings us real life examples of those who are getting there. You don't have to look far to find inspiration to change your attitude from doom to zoom. See you at the top!

Orphan Works Act 2008 - Artists' Rights Under Fire?

I cannot recall any legislation regarding the rights of artists that has caused more consternation and downright hostility than the Orphan Works Act 2008. The act has consumed huge amounts of energy and endless posts in the blogosphere and print articles regarding it. The volume of activity alone ought to be enough to let legislators know it needs work before being brought to the floor for a vote.

Here is the description of the act from the Open Congress site:

Orphan Works Act 2008 - To provide a limitation on judicial remedies in copyright infringement cases involving orphan works.

OpenCongress Summary:

This bill would limit the amount of damages a copyright holder could collect from an infringer if the infringer performed a diligent search for the copyright holder before using their work. The goal of the legislation is to free up for reuse copyrighted works whose holders cannot be found. It would also set up a process for the Copyright Office to certify commercially-produced visual registries to help people locate the holder of a copyright and prevent the orphaning of works in the future.

A good way to get started on making your own decisions is to to read the full House of Representatives version known as the Orphan Works Act 2008. It is neither long nor ladened with legalese for you to take time to read it.  Open Congress provides this Bill Status Widget for you to keep a current update on the status of the bill on your site or blog.

Clint Watson intrepidly took on the debate in a recent post on his excellent Fine Art Views blog. His conclusion was the act is not as onerous as some portray it. He got legal opinion from attorney, Bill Frazier, who writes the Art and Law column for the Art of the West magazine. Naturally, some of his readers chose to disagree.

 

Clint's perspective is supported by Joy Butler. She is an attorney practicing in the areas of entertainment, intellectual property, and business law. She is also the author of The Permission Seeker's Guide Through the Legal Jungle: Clearing Copyrights, Trademarks and Other Rights for Entertainment and Media Productions . A book that should be on the shelf of every professional artist.

 

Joy also publishes the Guide Through the Legal Jungle blog. She gives a straigthforward unbiased opinion titled What Copyright Orphan Work Legislation Does and Does Not Do, which you can read on her blog, including this unfettered clear statement:

"In the meantime, creators should be assured that the legislation does not change the fact that your work is copyrighted as soon as you create it."

If you want to see some balance, you can read Robert Rosenthal's plea and rationale for supporting the bill. He is in the Graphics Arts division of Princeton University. And, on the other side of the professorial coin, you can read Lawrence Lessig's op-ed piece from the New York Times here. Lessig is a law professor at Stanford. A quote from his piece:

This “reform” would be an amazingly onerous and inefficient change, which would unfairly and necessarily burden copyright holders with little return to the public.

Not suprisingly, Robert Genn has waded in with commentary on his highly respected and heavily trafficked Painters Keys blog. His post is titled Mickey Mouse Bill. As you can imagine from the title, he's not pleased. There are some very good comments with links of their own on this post, including one to the Senate version. It is slightly different than the House version and considered to be more fair to artists in some of the analyses I've read of the two bills. In the event the two bills were to pass both houses, the bill would have to be consolidated before going to the President for signing into law.

 

Fractured Atlas is a non-profit organization that provides services and support to artists and arts organizations. Here are some cogent thoughts from its founder and director, Adam Forest Huttler. His post includes a link to another from Ars Technica site. I find both more reasoned and level headed than this YouTube rant titled Corporate Theft, which is getting lots of views and publicity from Art Calendar magazine and other media. The Art Calendar piece provides a copy of an editable letter you can use to send to your representatives along with other links to visual arts organizations that oppose the legislation.

 

Despite the fact I believe this legislation has near zero chance of getting a floor vote in this presidential election year, I think this legislation needs changes to clearly define how it will be used. I also see too much baseless disinformation adding fuel to a legislative snafu that is causing overwrought reactions. I think the intent to free truly orphaned works is a good one.

 

Most importantly, if you are at all concerned about the legislation you should contact your representatives and let them know your dissatisfaction. You can find links to find out how to contact your legislators in the Art Calendar links and comments to Robert Genn's Mickey Mouse Bill post.

Creatively Borrowing Eclectic Link Karma #1

With apologies and admiration, I creatively borrow the Link Karma concept popularized by uber blogger, Brian Clark. He publishes the widely read and wildly popular Copy Blogger blog. If you haven't yet availed yourself of his offerings, here is a perfect example of why you should: Ernest Hemingway's Top 5 Tips for Writing Well.

Please enjoy the following eclectic list of links presented to inspire, inform and entertain you:

♦ Heifer International - Ending Hunger, Caring for the Earth: Ten Things You Can Do Today to End World Hunger

♦ With his Art Business Thoughts blog, Myron Arndt continues to provide invaluable insights from a successful art publisher's unique perspective. Here is one of his latest posts: Reproduction Glut and On-Demand.

♦ There once was a fellow from Sarasota
A retired art rep who always made quota
Now he produces podcasts
Full of wit and wisdom so fast
So his eager students miss not one iota -- for my friend, Dick Harrison, who shares his invaluable experiences and limericks (I trust he won't find the above too lame.) through his Sales Tips for Artists blog and podcasts. His latest missive is: Skills that Will Help You Sell Yourself and Your Art

♦ Clint Watson's Fine Art Views blog is one of the best online resources for visual artists. This recent post clearly shows why: Life and Art, Recursively

♦ The inimitable Art Biz Coach, Alyson Stanfield, who adds so much to the community of visual artists, generously provides a FREE 9-week program for setting up an Art Marketing Salon in your area. It's a terrific concept and a thorough program. Go ahead, get involved and make difference in your community.

♦ Art.com offers this fun program to bring out the inner artist in anyone. Careful, it can be addicting. Is there something you can do to create an interactive experience for your site visitors?

♦ Last, but far from least, The Positivity Blog, which I heartily recommend regular reading, provides: Mark Twain's Top 9 Tips for Living a Kick-Ass Life

Enjoy!

An Artist Replies to Thoughts on Religious Art

Take a look at this magnificent photograph titled From Past to Present. It's from a well-preserved relic of an old church. One needs no further information to be drawn into the power of such an image. It elegantly and perfectly punctuates my musings on tapping into the religious/spiritual art market in the previous post here.

Jeffrey Stoner is a talented and determined person. He worked harder at getting a copy of my book from Amazon than a person should have to by persisting through some awful service and ultimately buying a copy directly from me. I pray (okay, you caught me, pun intended) other readers have not fared so poorly. After reading the post on religious art, Jeff sent this picture with this note:

Interestingly the attached image was my best seller in 2007 (I took the image in July) and is featured in the May 2008 issue of Black and White Photography (their choice of image).  It was taken within the Primitive Baptist Church in Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park.  While I really liked the image, I was amazed at the volume of sales. 

I started with a new gallery in Waynesville, NC this year and the first image of mine they sold is this one. It does make one think.

I replied with this:

You captured the essence of many things with that beautiful evocative shot. Nostalgia, nature, spirituality and yearning immediately come to mind. It is often the case the public will respond to certain art, whether visual, musical, etc., in ways surprising to the artist.

Serendipity happens randomly. It often occurs where hard work, talent and luck intersect. Jeff's image here and the resulting unexpected success from his having worked it is a perfect example. It reminds us all to be grateful for the blessings we have regardless of any religious affiliation. I'm sure many who purchased this image feel that way. No doubt, Jeff's rewards go well beyond the commercial success he's enjoyed from this inspiring image.

Art Trends - Is Relgious Art a Trend to Follow?

Last March, I published a post titled, The Next Big Thing. It prompted Watts Wacker, the futurist who was the subject of the post, to kindly sent me a copy of What's Your Story?: Storytelling to Move Markets, Audiences, People, and Brands, a book he co-authored with his long-time collaborator with Ryan Matthews. I've only begun to read it and already found it fascinating and I'm sure more ideas for posts will follow this one.

Books on Religion and Spirituality Fuel Bookstore Growth

To illustrate how things change, Wacker's book mentions the growth of certain sections within bookstores. In particular, the addition and expansion of books on religion and spirituality. These now important sections were non-existent or relegated to a few shelves just a few years ago. This caused me think about my own recognition of how religious art has grown in importance in the past few years. It coincides with a burgeoning Christian music and Christian bookstore movement and a general interest in secular spirituality of all sorts.

Cultural Trends Are Art Marketing Opportunities

Trends like these are strong indicators of interest and as such present opportunities for those artists who are personally motivated to tap into a movement. I can't imagine one attempting to make a foray here without personal interest and beliefs in what these things mean. To borrow a well-worn cliche, this is one where you need to walk the talk if you want to be taken seriously.

Interest in Non-traditional Spirituality Is Growing

It's not just traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs fueling interest. Alternative spirituality has never been more popular now than ever in the U.S. The popularity of the secular Website, Beliefnet, (Alexa traffic ranking 4,938)with features articles on God, faith, prayer, the nature of spirituality, society and ethics, with numerous resources and all religions respected, stands in testament to our desires to tap into, or explore some version of religion or spirituality.

My personal observation regarding the practice of religion is many people tend to take a little from here and there and few are dogmatic. That is, certain truths and customs can make sense to us even though they come from disparate systems of beliefs. For instance, Catholics who believe in the basic tenets of the Church, but don't abide by or believe in its stance on birth control. Or, an otherwise devout Lutheran who finds solace in the mysticism surrounding vortexes in Sedona, AZ.

These are not dichotomies, but realities we all live with and accept. Hidebound church leaders and purists may have difficulty when faced with such truths about their flocks, but the members rarely do. Certainly, the large number of those who have never attended regular church services, or do so sproradically on holidays, etc., realize religion and spirituality is both personal and complex. Many yearn for something to give meaning to their lives, but look for answers outside of organized religion. And, with our ever more closely knit world, it's ever more easy to understand and embrace beliefs from other cultures.

If You Have the Right Stuff, This Market Is Waiting

An artist who can put such mixed feelings and sense of devotion into his or her own work in a way that touches people may inadvertently create a subset within a growing market trend. Can you manipulate work within this context purely for profit? I seriously doubt it. One thing the overexposure to mass marketing and media has done is to give us all very effective b.s. detectors. When we smell or spot a phony, we walk away. When it involves those attempting to cash in on something like religion, we run away.

Creating With a Personal Vision - Getting Behind What You Feel Is Real

Given the growing interest often deeply held personal feelings and beliefs of many towards religion and spirituality, it seems those artists whose own beliefs and feelings align with these trends ought to be able to serve their own needs to be fulfilled as an artist and perhaps to satisfy a desire to express their own feelings in a way that might help or inspire others.

It may not always work this way, but certainly in this is a case, contributing to or building a body of work around a growing trend when the artist is personally involved would make for a natural believable fit for collectors interested in the genre. When you create what you are passionate about, the greatest reward may be in the doing.

By tying your talent, your heart, your head and your religious beliefs together, you create a formula sure to benefit you on multiple levels. If you are moved by these thoughts, then exploring religion and spirituality as a contextual concept for your creative output should be an easy step to take.